LIONESS WEEKENDER COVER STORY
Asmara Coffee, a South African artisanal micro-roastery with a vision to make quality, artisanal coffee with wide customer appeal.
Buhle Magwentshu is the founder of Asmara Coffee, an artisanal micro-roastery based in Johannesburg, South Africa and launched in 2018. She is a Food Scientist and seasoned entrepreneur with over 15 years of corporate experience in the FMCG sector. Buhle established Asmara Coffee in 2018 with the vision to make quality, artisanal coffee, which appeals not only to the palates of coffee connoisseurs, but also to those starting out on the exciting journey of exploring coffee.
Lioness Weekender spoke to Buhle Magwentshu to find out where her passion for coffee stems from, her vision for the business, and her ambitions for her brand in the future.
What does your company do?
We are an artisanal coffee roastery that has set business practices and quality standards. We are continuously in pursuit of the best quality coffee through spending considerable time visiting coffee farms to develop personal and commercial relationships, as well as sourcing green coffee beans for its Roastery. We own and operate a 14 Tonne/month capacity roaster through which we produce and supply major retailers, hotel groups, cafes, and corporates in South Africa.
What inspired you to start your company?
The desire to make good quality coffee accessible to people at different levels of their coffee journey, and to showcase African coffees with their versatility, depth of flavors and deliciousness. South Africa has had a vibrant coffee culture for close to two decades. However, this was always a very niche market and a gap existed to make coffee “a way of life” for more market segments. Having worked in corporate in roles that involved ensuring continuous innovation and profitability for entrepreneurs, I was inspired to use my gained knowledge to start a coffee business that would combine my passion for coffee and be sustainable.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
We travel to remote places globally in our pursuit of good coffee, nurturing direct relationships with African and international farmers. With every encounter, we are humbled and constantly reminded of how hard coffee farmers work. At Asmara, we do our best to nourish these relationships. The final step is to bring the consumer, good quality coffee in its purest form. We roast each crop to extract the best characteristics from it. We offer our customers a taste of every farmer’s crop and their region.
Our name has a dual meaning for us: We pay homage to one of Africa’s most hidden gems, bordering Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, Asmara is the capital city of Eritrea. Asmara is a city rich in architectural heritage. The architecture ranges from iconic buildings, art deco, cinemas to futuristic and nostalgic cafes.
In Indonesia, a major global coffee producer and consumer, the word Asmara means Love. We pay homage to our African roots and important coffee producers, celebrating our cultural diversity and our place in the world. Spreading love through coffee – our love for the hard-working coffee farmers throughout the continent, our love for our customers, and the love spread by our coffee through friends meeting for cozy chats, celebrations and exchanging ideas.
Tell us a little about your team:
We are a diverse team of individuals that is made up of specialized skills. From our head roaster, quality assurance manager, chef for the cafe and various support staff. They are all passionate about coffee and committed to growing Asmara Coffee to becoming a company recognized for high-quality coffee and sharing the love of coffee with others.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I have over 15 years of working experience in corporate. My desire to be an entrepreneur started whilst I was in corporate. South Africa has a firmly developed coffee culture, and the entire value chain is so intricate and interesting. My years of experience have been instrumental in creating and nurturing a business that is well-positioned to scale up and take advantage of new opportunities. I started the business through a partnership with a local leading coffee roasting company. They had been in the industry for 20 years. This was important to me, in my quest to create a sustainable business. I want to secure the best raw materials at competitive pricing, to ensure business continuity as we grow without the many pressures often faced by start-ups. After 5 years on the journey, I was ready to be a fully independent operator of Asmara. Asmara is now gearing for growth having set up a firm and sustainable foundation.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
To fully bring the Asmara vision to fruition - making good quality coffee accessible. This we hope to do through scaling with Asmara partners both locally and internationally. Organic growth is at the core of our values, and we hope to partner with like-minded individuals and alleviate our country’s challenge of high youth unemployment. Coffee changes lives at every stage of the value chain.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Making a meaningful difference to people's lives. Being able to provide sustainable jobs to my team. Providing the best product and service to our customers makes it all worthwhile.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Often, we convert our passions into businesses. Allow yourself time to grow out of building a business purely on passion and be open to learning how to turn your passion into a sustainable business. Find people and partners who will enable you to do what you do best, whilst they add value where there might be gaps. People who are able to critically analyze your business and provide you with the right support.
To find out more about the Asmara Coffee story, contact Buhle Magwentshu via email: buhle@asmaracoffee.co.za or visit the company website and social media platforms:
Website: http://www.asmaracoffee.co.za
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/asmaracoffeeroasters
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asmara.coffee?igsh=bGppZGFuem15b3Rp
